7. Saoirse Ronan
Im actually going to start my discussion of Saoirse with a complaintIm a huge Studio Ghibli fan and was very excited when I heard that Saoirse was providing the voice of the protagonist of last years The Secret World of Arrietty. Once I saw it, I didnt think it sounded at all like Saoirse and so waited until the credits to discover that Disney had apparently decided they needed a starlet from their own network to do an American voice for us. It turns out Saoirse provided the voice for Arrietty in the UK version. Since when do we need a different version for a fellow English speaking country? Anyway, Saoirse is one of the younger members of this list, but also one of the most accomplished. She earned an Oscar nomination as a thirteen year old for Atonement and has impressed us ever since. She took on the challenging role of a murdered girl watching her family and killer from purgatory in Peter Jacksons The Lovely Bones. She played the young female member of a band of escaped prisoners in Peter Weirs The Way Back. And she reteamed with Joe Wright to portray a scarily realistic young assassin in Hanna. Her upcoming slate promises a lot more goods including Violet & Daisy from the screenwriter of Precious, Neil Jordans Byzantium, Kevin Macdonalds How I Live Now, Andrew Niccols The Host, and Wes Andersons The Grand Budapest Hotel. This is a slate of writers and directors who have all at least been nominated for an Oscar (three have won), so they know what the Academy likes.